Court of Ice
by Lapis Moon
Summary: A story that revolves around the past of the Winter court, it will be told in the point of views of many different Winter fey. Complex politics, rivalries between brothers, and the friendship of Puck and Ash will be revealed. This is not related in any way to Winter's Tale.
1. Chapter 1: Hunt

Ash released the arrow, silvery eyes narrowed in concentration and cold glamour spinning around him like a cape, bending easily to his will and making the air tingle with his magic. He felt almost irritated somehow, the echoes of the nobility's voices still resounding through his head, words looping around and around in an endless circle of implications and contracts. Though he was sure Mab disapproved, Ash left court as soon as he could, no longer having any wish to stay even a mere second longer. Besides, Mab had made sure to show favoritism towards him today, and it most certainly did not escape Rowan's sly notice.

The mist of the Wyldwood certainly was a bit annoying, shimmering and shining in front of him like a foggy curtain, though not powerful enough to advert his perfect aim. As always, he hit the target he was aiming for, an icy arrow covering the marked tree's trunk with webs of frost. His irritation certainly did seem to have an effect on his overall actions, because even at this distance, he could tell the point of the arrow was completely embedded into the tree, the force of the blow enough for the icy projectile to rip easily through wood.

He allowed himself a tiny smile at the accomplishment, though he knew well that a perfect shot had long since lost its cause for celebration, having occurred so many times that it was mostly predictable. Brushing his black hair away from his eyes, he chose a taller tree, the glamour around him already materializing in the shape of an arrow.

It was more a way to calm down than to actually perfect his skills, and the Winter Prince knew this well as he chose a tiny red flower blossoming in the high branches of the tree as his target. As he aimed, the details of the flower became crystal clear, even the morning dew on its petals visibly defined, his vision automatically sharpening from years of practice. He let go of the arrow, and it once more flew gracefully through the air, making the wind whistle as it sliced through. A red petal fell to the forest floor, along with a bunch of leaves, which he stared at with curiosity. They had traces of Summer glamour.

"So violent! Okay, whatever I did to you, I'm sure there was a perfectly good explanation for it!" A Seelie faery landed in front of him, green eyes shining mischievously and red hair like fire adorning his head. "I don't seem to remember pulling a prank on you…So, for what reason was I shot at with an ice arrow? And what should I call you? Come to think of it, I don't remember you at all." The Summer gave a snicker, arrogance clear in his posture as he talked, and Ash gave a quiet sigh.

"I did not shoot at you, and call me Ash," The Winter Prince answered emotionlessly, his expression perfectly composed and unreadable. "You merely stepped in front of my arrow, and if you do not step away, I will be tempted to shoot another." His voice was freezing cold, filled with the effects of ancient hatred between their courts, a result of teachings from his siblings and parent.

Completely ignoring his last threat, the Summer faery smiled brightly, a grin spreading rapidly across his face as he idly examined a leaf caught between his fingers. "You may or may not have heard of me, but I'm Robin Goodfellow. You know? The Summer Jester?" The Seelie crossed his arms and stood back with a smirk, as if patiently waiting for a fantastic response.

Instead, in return, he only got a tiny snicker and more emotionless retorts. "I have heard of you, though the rumors are not at all positive."

Robin gave a frown, exaggerated disappointment adorning his face for a moment, before he leaped up, as if suddenly remembering something important. "Ah, yes. I just recalled I was running from an aggravated bunch of redcaps. I may have just provoked them a bit…" The Seelie faery trailed off, and despite the obvious warning in his words, his expression still remained carefree, and Ash marveled at how he was so worriless. "So, nice to chat and all, but you might want to start running. They might think you're friends with me." Robin innocently turned away, and as if to prove his point, angered shouts arose to their ears, followed by a group of redcaps, screaming for blood and yelling threats at the same time.

"You didn't fight them?" Ash gestured to the daggers Robin was armed with, an eyebrow raised in obvious confusion. Briefly, somewhere at the back of his mind, the Winter prince wondered what Robin had done, to make the bloodthirsty redcaps even more bloodthirsty than usual.

"Well, technically, I was the one who trespassed, and with Elysium in a few days and all… Well, no reason to provoke Lord Pointy Ears any more, right?" He let out another laugh, surprisingly not even attempting to hide his wrongdoing, even if it wasn't the full explanation. The redcaps drew ever near, and Ash could see they were armed with large clubs, making whooshing sounds as the weapons were spun steadily in circles. In a graceful motion, he drew his icy blade, cold fog engulfing the glowing blue sword, not bothering to look back to see if Robin had run.

"Prince Ash!" The leader yelped as the fuming gang approached, gasping a tiny bit in surprise, the blood-painted cap obvious against the forested backdrop.

"Hello," he replied rather civilly, though frost glinted against the surface of the trees, cold beginning to creep along the air, his Winter glamour poisoning the land with his mood. "If you don't intend to leave my sight, then prepare to die."

"That Seelie trespassed our realm!" The leader snarled, though there was a slight undertone of caution now as he scornfully accused Robin Goodfellow, who Ash found to be leaning casually against a tree, forest green eyes glinting with a dangerous light, proof of subtle power.

"I'll deal with him personally. Leave." Easily, Ash slid into a battle stance, sword poised directly to kill, and gray eyes filled with the merciless nature of the Unseelie fey. There was a slight pause as the gang fully comprehended the threat, gleaming eyes filled with reluctance. Finally, a silent decision seemed to have been made, the only sound being the crumbling of leaves as the redcaps cautiously backed away, before snarling and breaking into a hasty, clumsy run.

"Wow, ice-boy. I have to admit that your heritage must have slipped my mind for a few seconds. A son of the Unseelie Queen, huh? Does that mean I should start running? Because I get the distinct feeling that last time I saw them, your brothers didn't like me much." Rolling his eyes with faked exasperation, the Summer faery smirked again, already in the process of beginning to leave. "Anyway, before you act on that ancient-enemy policy thing, I really should get going. No use making both courts hate me, right?" And with that, Robin Goodfellow vanished into a heap of leaves, leaving Ash to wonder what to do next.

* * *

AN

Hello, this story will be the first I wrote on the Iron fey that doesn't involve Diana, and I hope that you like it! Please leave a review, and any advice on how to improve my writing will be appreciated. I sincerely want to get better, and comments, helpful suggestions, or anything of the sort is welcomed!

-Lapis Moon


	2. Chapter 2: Knowledge

AN

_Usually, I write author's notes after the chapter, though today, it will be more of a warning/apology for possible unintended dialogue and/or thoughts that seem out of character. I find it extremely hard to write in first person point of view when the character is not an original one created by me for some odd reason, perhaps because third person makes the possibility of an out of character...character seem less likely. As a slightly unrelated side note, I have once written a story for a completely different series in third person, and I couldn't help but notice the lack of humor, or at least in my opinion. Anyway, those seemingly unconnected ramblings were hoping to convey that I'm writing in third person to prevent out of character actions and thoughts (though they might happen anyway), and as a result, it will be less humorous._

-Lapis Moon

* * *

Rowan was irritated, not even bothering to hide his anger, blazing fury ironically covering everything he touched with a layer of freezing frost. With a low snarl, the vase he had randomly brushed his fingers against burst into irreplaceable fragments, Winter glamour spinning around him in a frenzy of cold. "What is it?" he asked the Thornguard, tone slightly impatient. Ash had left again, and if he didn't know his younger brother better, the second prince would have thought Ash was trying to flee his wrath. Instead, he knew, Ash was merely fleeing the court, though as far as he was concerned, it brought him the same amount of irritation.

"There is a group of redcaps, my prince, who claimed to have seen Prince Ash in the Wyldwood." The Thornguard stood stiff and straight, not at all meeting Rowan's chilling gaze, yet somehow seeming emotionless all the same.

Bored and still plagued with irritation, Rowan summoned glamour to his hand, a sharp shard of ice already manifesting in the freezing air, as he answered with casual interest. "Is that so?" he mused quietly, a smirk beginning to form on his lips once more. "He hunts there often, and I can't see why there would be something to report." Redcaps weren't the smartest of fey, though they had enough common sense to an extent not to bother him unless it was urgent, and Rowan knew this well.

"They claim to have seen something worthy of your attention," the Thornguard continued formally, expression an unbreakable mask of ice under his armor, as the ice dagger exploded into mist in Rowan's hand, still visible tiny crystal fragments falling in a cloudy shower.

"There are few things worthy of my attention, but I'm sure they knew that already." With a gesture, Rowan casually agreed to meet the gang of redcaps, wondering what exactly they considered interesting enough to personally bother him with. A snicker left his mouth in amusement, and he silently hoped for an end to his boredom.

* * *

"I would continue, Your Highness, but would you perhaps allow us a request?" The redcap leader had a greedy gaze, claws curling around the handle of a club threateningly, though in response, Rowan only offered a snort of amusement at the attempted warning.

"A favor? Or something of monetary value?" Rowan sneered, the question mocking and sarcastic, eyes glittering with amusement at the false hope this seemed to give the group of Unseelie fey as he leaned carelessly on the icy walls of the cave.

"A favor," the redcap answered hastily, wit seemingly lost in his sudden eagerness. "You see, the Queen froze one of our own into ice, and there are few with enough glamour…"

"So, you are asking for a favor," Rowan interjected, watching as the redcaps quickly agreed, smiles immediately fading to confusion when they saw the look in his eyes morph into menace. A subtle, unintended warning that it wasn't the best of ideas. "So," he repeated casually, drawing his sword and subtly seeming to examine its serrated edge, the jagged shadows dancing in the eerie light of the cave. "Do you favor your life or your friend's?"

The implication was clear, and the redcap flinched in understanding, eyes darting nervously from Rowan to the blade in the prince's hands. "We saw Prince Ash with a Seelie in the Wyldwood! And he even stopped us from killing the intruder," the Unseelie hissed, tone quietly respectful though angry nonetheless.

"That is rather interesting, though I can't say that it means much." In a show of dangerous lack of interest, Rowan drew a deep breath and gave a yawn, his hands twirling his sword's hilt around in a rhythmic pattern, frost and mist from the blade beginning to crawl upon the icy surface of the cavern walls, shrouding the air with eerie billows of mist and cold. "He probably just wanted to hunt in peace." Despite his words, inwardly, Rowan was smiling, this new piece of information already making itself comfortable in his many plans.

"The Seelie was an intruder!" The redcap urgently echoed, though it was far from the part that Rowan was most interested in. "He had been in Winter, and we chased him out to the Wyldwood!" Again, though he was careful not to let it slip through his mask, Rowan was a bit agitated that the redcaps thought him interested in the Seelie's wrongdoings, and indirectly, the redcaps' loyalty to the law. With a snarl, the redcap continued on, completely oblivious to the point of Rowan's sword impatiently lifting off the ground. "Prince Ash didn't let us kill Robin Goodfellow!"

And then, the second Winter Prince's pointed ears began seriously focus, the name of the referred to Seelie unpleasantly familiar. If he told Mab of this, Ash would probably deny it somehow with the full situation, though if he could make their mother distrust his younger brother for even a day... No, that would be too petty, he mused quietly, absently crossing his arms and smirking at the redcaps in front of him. "Swear to me that you will not tell anyone of this incident, and I'll spare your lives," the Winter Prince said lazily, and the redcaps hurriedly agreed, eagerly scrambling away before he could change his mind.

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AN

Hello again! As usual, please review!

-Lapis Moon


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